Artists Assess Freedom of Expression in the Year 2020

February 20 2021

The Fritt Ord Foundation and TSL Analytics invite the public to a live-streamed launch of a report and discussion from 2 to 3.30 p.m. on Thursday, 11 March 2021.

Do artists believe that freedom of expression has been strengthened or weakened over the past five years? Which changes would they deem worthy of mention, and what specific experiences have they themselves had with a view to curtailments on freedom of expression? In what ways have freedom of expression and artistic freedom been subject to pressure? The report ‘Artists Assess Freedom of Expression in the Year 2020’ is a sequel to the preceding survey in 2014, highlighting events and trends in four fields: literature, dramatic art, visual art and film.

The report is the first publication in Fritt Ord’s Monitoring Project – The Status of Freedom of Expression in Norway 2020–21. It has been written by Tore Slaatta and Hanne M. Okstad of TSL Analytics. How does the report affect the work of the Freedom of Expression Commission, and is it possible to say anything about future developments?

Following an introductory presentation by Tore Slaatta, there will be a discussion featuring:

Pia Maria Roll, dramatic artist
Kjersti Løken Stavrum, chair of the Norwegian Freedom of Expression Commission
Gelawesh Waledkhani, visual artist

Moderator: Jonas Ekeberg, critic, curator and head of the House of Photography in Oslo

The report will be published on the Fritt Ord Foundation’s website at 12.00 noon on 11 March.

The seminar will be streamed here on Fritt Ord’s website as well as on its Facebook page.

News

Eirin Larsen and Hadia Tajik join the Fritt Ord Board

August 5 2025

Eirin Larsen (36) and Hadia Tajik (42) bring valuable experience from journalism, technology, politics and jurisprudence to the Fritt Ord Board.

Making the film «Farouk» – on the geologist that secured Norway its oil

July 1 2025

Geologist Farouk Al-Kasim joined the the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate in 1968, shaping Norwegian petroleum resource management for decades afterwards. Now, documentary film director Halkawt Mustafa and producer Janne Hjeltnes are making a film about Al-Kasim’s life and reflections.
“Farouk tells me something in this film that he has not talked about before, because he has always told the version he feels Norway wanted to hear,” recounts Mustafa, who has Iraqi roots himself.

Read the interview with the director and see the list of grants awarded by Fritt Ord in June 2025.

Bård Vegar Solhjell new chair of the Fritt Ord Board

July 1 2025

Bård Vegar Solhjell (53) has taken over as the new chair of the Fritt Ord Foundation Board.

Cultural newspaper TBATBA.no and new journalism grants – June 2025

June 19 2025

– Cultural journalism is under pressure. Part of the problem is media outlets failing to cover culture in formats and ways that appeal to people under 30, says Ida Madsen Hestman, editor, freelance critic, and founder of TBATBA.no. Last year, she started the kind of publication she herself would want to read.

The magazine TBA is among those awarded funding in June 2025. See the full list of grants in Norsk Journalistikk.